Saturday, September 17, 2011

More than 20,000 under-11s were punished for racist and homophobic behaviour in schools last year, according to research.

The equivalent of around 100 primary school pupils a day were reported to local authorities after using offensive language in lessons and the playground, it is claimed.

In some cases, pupils were reprimanded for relatively trivial squabbles and employing insults such as “gaylord” and “broccoli head”.

Researchers said many children – some as young as four – are being reported despite being “unlikely to understand the meaning of these words”.

Schools are obliged to report all “hate speech” incidents to local authorities as part of the 2000 Race Relations Act. Many councils are also demanding that schools log data relating to homophobic incidents.

The reports – including pupils’ names and descriptions of incidents – can be used by police and social services and can remain on children’s records for years.